


Someday

by queermarik (awkwardTurtleduck)



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, dramatic lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6193564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardTurtleduck/pseuds/queermarik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the love of your life is slipping away, drastic measures must be taken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someday

The door to my apartment slammed shut, startling me out of my reading. Fear spiked deep in my gut, but the bright voice of Stella floated through the apartment and into my room, instantly calming me. After being friends for so long, I wasn’t even surprised that she came into my apartment unannounced. She sashayed over to the window without a word and opened the curtains to let the warm light of the evening pour into my room. I complained about her letting the light in, eliciting a laugh from her before she flung herself onto my bed, landing half on my legs, half on a bundle of sheets and blankets. A wide smile spread across my face as she wiggled up the mattress to where I was sitting. I squinted at her, still adjusting to the light. She had her hair up in a bun and a few golden strands managed to worm their way out of the hair tie, framing her face. She was flushed, eyes shining with mirth. The sunlight that filtered through the room rested on her softly, giving her an ethereal glow. I swear, she has never looked more beautiful than in that moment. My heart swelled with joy, knowing that I was the one to make her look so happy. She propped her head up with one arm, the sleeve of her sweater bunching up in the nook of her elbow. She smiled at me so gently my heart ached, feeling more love than I thought possible. I bent my head to kiss her, smiling into her lips as she returned it. She pulled away, smiling at me sweetly before she opened her mouth to say, “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and damn right, it's better than yours-” 

My eyes snapped open as my phone sang at me. A dream, that’s all it was. I sat up, disoriented; Stella was calling. I sighed heavily and picked up my phone, rubbing sleep out of my eyes and attempted to push my dream out of my head as I answered. 

“Daria, I have major news!” Stella sang into the phone, her joy nearly palpable. 

I stifled a yawn. “Good morning to you, too. What’s up?”

She squealed. “Claudia proposed! God, it literally just happened. I called you, like, ten seconds after I said yes! I’m so excited,” Stella chattered on, but it faded into white noise. I felt bile rise into my throat. Stella was engaged.

For as long as I've known her, I felt that I didn’t deserve her. I’m a plain, boring person. Stella is vibrant, enchanting; I never thought she would stoop to my level. Then, the day I prepared myself to ask her out, Claudia Paltras came into our lives. This tall, elegant woman. Powerful, rich, and sophisticated. Everything I’m not, everything I’ll never be. Obviously, my mistake was thinking Stella wasn’t serious about her. Claudia was nice enough, but she was far too serious for Stella. In any case, Claudia and Stella have only dated for two years. God, I’ve been here for Stella for ten years, I know her better than that phony-

“...Anyway, you should totally come over tomorrow and we can set you up for a date,” Stella chirped, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I started. “Wh-what?” 

I didn’t have to be in the room to know she was rolling her eyes. “A date for the wedding, duh! Like, you’re 27. You should be settling down. You can’t date around forever. We need to find you a date now so, by the time my wedding rolls around, you guys can start planning your own!” I knew it would do me no good to fight her, so I promised her I would think about it. After hanging up, I drew my knees up to my chest and tried to calm myself, but my throat began to constrict. I hauled myself out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to get water to, hopefully, soothe my nerves and my throat. As I drained my glass, a magazine on the counter caught my eye.  
“Are you lonely? Are you looking for that special someone? Then make an account on our dating site!” As I read the advert, a thought planted itself in my head. I set the cup down in the sink and padded back to my room to open my computer. I had a plan to carry out. 

The following Saturday, I pulled up to Stella’s - correction, Stella and Claudia’s - apartment, my stomach churning with anxiety. I was here under the guise of having Stella help me set up a profile on a dating site. Convincing her to let me come over for this was easy enough; she was more than willing to set me up for dates, especially after the nagging she gave me after her…announcement yesterday. But the issue was, and always has been, I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else but Stella. My beautiful, wonderful best friend. My engaged best friend. I shook my head. Now was not the time to think about what could be - if everything goes according to plan, my wishes will come to fruition. I let myself into the apartment and followed the sound of cheerful pop music to the bedroom. I allowed myself to stare at her for a moment before I alerted her to my presence. Her blonde hair just brushed her shoulders and her light blue eyes were focused on the music video playing on the computer. She was curled up on her bed, her chin resting on her bare knees. I shook my head, and knocked gently on the door. She looked up at me, a wide smile lighting her face when she saw me. She patted the space beside her wordlessly. I sat next to her and she switched tabs, opening up a dating site that I was familiar with. Stella insisted we get started immediately, so she asked me questions as she filled out the questionnaire for me; her tapping on the keyboard was accented by the soft music drifting from the speakers. I watched her silently, only speaking when she asked me questions from the site. A soft sigh escaped my lips as her engagement ring glinted in the light of her room. She paused for a second, and then turned to me.

“Okay, what exactly do you want to filter out?”

_Everyone but you._

“Um. Huge nostrils?” 

Stella smacked me with a pillow. “I need specifics, Daria! Like, what would your perfect match be? Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with, ideally?” 

_You._

__“A person, preferably. But I wouldn’t complain if I ended up with, like, 15 cats, give or take.”_ _

__Stella groaned in frustration. “You’re hopeless,” she grumbled, choosing to click through the filters for me. I leaned against her shoulder, watching her type out a response to the final question. My heart leapt in my chest. The final stage of the plan was here. I would finally be able to prove to the girl I’ve loved for so long, the girl I’ve hurt so many to protect, shouldn’t be with anyone but me. I’m the only one who understands her, who can-_ _

__“Okay, done!” Stella’s bright voice broke my train of thought. “Now, let’s see who’s lucky enough to get matched with you,” Stella looked down at me, grinning broadly. My heart skipped a beat as I smiled back at her._ _

__“Thanks for doing this for me, Stel.”_ _

__“It’s no problem. You would do the same for me if I didn’t have Claudia,” Stella said, eyeing her ring before turning her attention to the screen, skipping over matches she deemed unfitting for me. She was tapping her feet against the bed to the music as she scrolled, mumbling criticisms under her breath. However, when she came across a particular profile, I felt her whole body tense. I didn’t have to look at the screen to tell who it was._ _

__“Stella? What’s wrong?” I asked, lifting my head from her shoulder. She lifted her hand to point at the screen. I looked at it, a familiar face smiling back at me.  
Claudia Paltras. 25. Single. Last Active: 1 day ago. _ _

__“Hi,” read her biography. “I’m Claudia. I’m bisexual, single, and not looking for anything substantial. I’m mainly just here for hookups. Message me if you’re interested! ;)”  
My breath caught in my throat as I tore my eyes from the screen and looked back at Stella, an expression of horror carefully painted on my face. Her face was contorted with confusion and hurt. _ _

__“D-Daria, what the fuck is this,” Stella asked, her voice thick. I sat up, crossing my legs to look at her with worry. The hurt that was written all over Stella’s face sent a pang of guilt deep into my gut and had me rethinking my ‘master plan’, but this was for the best. In any case, the plan was already set in motion, and there was nothing I could do to stop it even if I wanted to._ _

__I shifted my look from horror to pure confusion, maneuvering the computer away from Stella’s gaze carefully. “Stella,” I started softly, “You know what this is.”  
Stella shook her head stiffly. “No, she wouldn’t do this to me. Not after she just proposed, not after last time-”_ _

__I cut her off. “Stella, a cheater is a cheater! She cheated on you before, you shouldn’t be surprised that she’s done it again,” I pressed my hand to her shoulder firmly, attempting to get her to look at me. Her mouth was pressed into a hard line, outlined with the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes._ _

__Suddenly, the door to their apartment swung open, a jingle of keys and plastic bags rustling broke the silence._ _

__“Hey,” Claudia’s smooth voice floated in. “The shop didn’t have the exact brand of tea you wanted, but I figure as long as it’s green it’s good, right?” When Stella didn’t answer, the rustling stopped._ _

__“Babe?”  
The clack of Claudia’s heels echoed through the apartment as she got closer to the bedroom. Stella’s breathing came more shallowly, and my stomach churned with anxiety._ _

__“Babe? Are you here?” Claudia came through the hallway leading to the bedroom, looking like she just stepped off the runway rather than coming back from a shopping trip. Her short, wavy brown hair carefully framed her face. A smile spread across her red lips as she entered the room. Stella’s face remained unchanged, staring at Claudia like she was an alien. Claudia’s smile fell away when she met Stella’s gaze. She walked over to the bed, her eyes never leaving Stella’s face._ _

__“Darling, are you okay?” Worry flitted across Claudia’s face when Stella refused to answer._ _

__“Daria, what’s wrong? Why is she so upset?” Claudia turned to me, seeking assistance. I affixed a stony expression to my face._ _

__“Like you don’t know,” I snapped._ _

__“You’re right, I don’t know,” Claudia replied calmly. She moved to Stella’s side of the bed and knelt beside her, placing a hand on Stella’s own and looking up at her pleadingly. Much to my delight, Stella yanked her hand back, as if Claudia’s fingers were scorching hot. Claudia’s confusion deepened as she searched Stella’s face anxiously. Stella refused to look down at Claudia, tears running down her face silently. I slowly removed my hand from Stella’s shoulder and reached towards the computer, sliding it across the bed forcefully towards Claudia with a scoff. She leaned over Stella’s legs to scan the screen. When she looked back up at us, her confusion was evident._ _

__“I don’t get it, is this some kind of joke?” A strangled sound ripped its way out of Stella when Claudia questioned what we were showing her. Claudia looked between the computer, Stella, and me. Computer. Stella. Me. The melody still pouring from the computer’s speakers and the tension blended together._ _

__“You don’t think I actually set this profile up, do you?” Claudia asked incredulously._ _

__“You’ve cheated on me before,” Stella choked out. Claudia’s face twisted in pain, and she took a deep breath to steady herself._ _

__Stella opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but the only sound that came from her was a shuddery breath before she pressed her lips together, finally looking away from Claudia. A feeling of glee bubbled in my stomach; Stella had always been naive, but I never thought she would believe this so readily._ _

__“I’m going to give you time to consider whether I would truly do something like this to you, to us,” Claudia said, her voice thick. She looked towards me, trusting and confused all in one. I glared back at her, playing the part of the angry best friend readily. Claudia stood up from her place next to Stella and slowly backed out of the room and into the hall. The soft click of her heels against the floor and the jingle of her keys were the last thing I heard from her before the door swung open and closed. Stella took in a shaky breath before she began to truly cry. She buried her face into my neck as she sobbed desperately, tears soaking my shirt. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, relishing in her closeness._ _

__“God, Daria, what am I going to do? You were right about her, you were always right,” Stella wept._ _

__I consoled her, moving a hand up to her head so I could pet her hair and whispered comforting words to her softly. The tremors that wracked Stella’s body hurt me to see, but this was for the best._ _

__A smile slid across my face. She would understand, someday._ _

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for my short story class final, and i really enjoyed this!! i hope you liked it as well.


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